Curiouser and Curiouser
by Flaming Trails
Summary: Doc and Mysteria are finally married. But Doc's insistence on a quick test for his new invention leads to a surprising mess. A crossover between VDC and Trilogy
1. Wedding Jitters

Curiouser and Curiouser

By Flaming Trails

A Vampire Doc Chronicle

Disclaimer: I don't own BTTF. If I did -- I'd probably still be thinking about Doc with Ock's tentacles. Damn.

Chapter 1

Thursday, February 19th, 1987

Hill Valley

3:04 P.M.

"Doc. Doc. Doc!"

"What?"

"Doc, you're driving me crazy. Either stop pacing, or start climbing the walls for real so I can get the image out of my head."

Doc stopped his restless movement and looked at his best friend, seated against the wall, his tie pulled loose. "I'm sorry, Marty," he sighed. "I'm just so very nervous."

"You must be. I haven't seen you like this since you went on that first date with Mystie."

Doc ran his fingers through his hair. "I know. Great Scott, that seems like ages ago. And now -- I'm going to marry her. After one year, two months, two weeks, five days, and 20 hours of being engaged, I'm tying the knot with her."

Marty smirked. "Mystie's going to _love_ you on anniversaries. I always remember mine and Jennifer's at the last minute." He got up and put a hand on Doc's shoulder, keeping his friend from starting a fresh bout of pacing. "But you really have to relax, Doc. Anyone who saw you like this might think you didn't want to marry her."

"I do, I do! I'm in love. Really and truly in love. I'm merely scared as hell about it." He shook his head, staring down at himself in his black pants and jacket and white dress shirt. "A husband. At _my_ age."

"Hell, Mysteria's older than you, and she's gonna be a wife," Marty reminded him.

Doc smiled. "Completely true." He finally sat down, trying to will himself to be calm. "You've got the rings, right?"

"Right here, Doc," Marty assured him. He pulled them out of his right pocket and took a close look. "_A Love Past Forever_. How'd you come up with that?"

Doc's eyes got a far away, lovey-dovey look. "It just came to me at the beginning of the week. I knew it was the perfect phrase to put on the rings." He came back to Earth. "I just hope Mysteria likes it."

"You didn't tell her?"

"It's a surprise. Very romantic, no?"

Marty grinned. "You bet, Doc."

There was a knock at the door. "Can we come in?" asked Louis's voice. "We're getting bored out here."

"The more the merrier. I could use the company."

Louis, James, Matt, and George all filtered in, dressed to the nines. "This thing itches," Mat complained, scratching his neck. "I don't see why we should wear tuxes if the groom himself isn't."

"Stop whining. This is a wedding, and we have to look our best." Louis flashed Doc a fanged grin. "How does it feel to be on the verge of matrimony?"

"Hot. Very hot," Doc admitted, wiping away the sweat on his brow. "This marriage is going to truly be for _forever_. How do you make a marriage last forever?"

"Don't ask me, Doc, I'm not even married yet."

"And we're mostly lifelong bachelors," James nodded, nibbling his nails. "Except for Louis -- you got married once, right?"

"Ugh, you do _not_ want to mention my marriage here," Louis said, his face growing dark. "It'll be bad luck. That was a living hell." He noticed Doc's wide-eyed, frightened look. "See, now we've scared him."

"Marriage a living hell?" Doc repeated, his voice almost a squeak.

"It was a mistake I made a long time ago. _You_ shouldn't be worrying about it."

Doc abruptly laughed. "I know, and I'm trying to be calm. Damn it, I really _do_put the 'sick' in 'lovesick,' don't I?"

"Don't be too hard on yourself. I bet Mysteria is just as nervous," George said, pulling at his tie.

"I highly doubt that," Doc snorted. "This is all Mysteria could talk about for weeks. Or have you forgotten the almost constant sessions between your wife and my fiancee?" George couldn't say anything to that. "I bet she can't wait to get started."

_Meanwhile. . . ._

"I can't go through with this."

Jennifer stared at Mystie in disbelief. "You can't marry Doc?"

"No. Not in public at least." She fussed with her veil for no particular reason. "I have so many butterflies in my stomach, it's a wonder I'm not levitating."

"Oh, relax, Myst," Natalie said with a big smile, sitting beside her. "This is going to be the best day of your life!"

"How do _you_know? You've never been married!"

"Oh, I've attended my fair share of weddings. And trust me, the bride is usually smiling."

"She's right," Gerry nodded in agreement, standing by the mirror. "The day you get married, everything is right with the world."

"No offense, Gerry, but that isn't much comfort coming from a divorced woman." Mystie stared at her reflection. "I'm gonna be a bride. At 323, I'm going to be a BRIDE."

"Deep breaths, Mystie, deep breaths," Jennifer said.

Lorraine entered the room, having left to check on things outside. She beamed as she looked at Mysteria. "Mystie, you look simply gorgeous."

"Do I?" Mysteria looked down at the dress, snow white with a line of hearts and bows in blood red embroidery on the bottom. "Do I really?"

"Divine," Nataile said.

"Wonderful," Jennifer agreed.

"Dr. Brown's going to drool all over himself when he sees it," Gerry grinned.

"Gerry!" Mysteria laughed. "It's our wedding day, for Christ's sake!"

"Well, you really do look beautiful."

Jennifer ran her hand down the layers of fabric, a dreamy look in her eyes. "You guys did such a great job on this dress." _Heck, Mystie, I'd kinda like to steal it and keep it until I get married to Marty._

Mysteria grinned at her weakly. _Easy now, Jen. You and Marty are still only 18. You have plenty of time to steal my dress. _Jennifer giggled, nodding. Mystie rolled her eyes and finally sat down. "Anything from the 'words of wisdom' department for me, Lorraine?" she asked, her eyes pleading. "I could use some tips."

"You just have to enjoy yourself. I was panicking at my wedding too, but it all turned out for the best. Often those moments that seem the most embarrassing will turn out to be your favorite thing about the wedding."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Lorraine sat down next to her, putting a hand on hers. "When George and I got married, he mixed up one of the vows, and I ended up making the same mistake. We were both mortified at the time, but after almost 30 years of marriage, it seems rather cute. _That's_what I mean."

Mystie nodded, squeezing her hand. "30 years. . . . Suddenly that sounds like such a long time. I hope by then I can look back on this in the same happy light."

"I'm sure you will, honey. After all, you're marrying the man you love."

"Listen," Gerry said, leaning toward her, "here's the only tip you need. Don't think of the wedding, baby. Think of the honeymoon."

Mysteria giggled and turned bright red. "Well -- ahh -- why don't we just bring on the ceremony?"

_Back in Doc's room, 3:10 P.M._

Doc checked his watches. "Great Scott, 3:10 already?! I've got five minutes left as a bachelor, then I become a married man." He got and began pacing again. "How did all this marriage business start, anyway? Back in caveman days, there was no such thing as marriage. You sized your mate up on reproductive capability, and if she fit the bill, you went at it."

"Doc!"

"Sorry. But it's true. Marriage is an artificial construct of civilization."

Matt smirked. "Well, if that's the way you're looking at it, don't think of the wedding. Think of the honeymoon."

Doc got a rather dopey smile on his face at that. "Oh. I feel better now."

"Doooc," Marty pleaded, turning bright red. "I _really_ don't want to know."

"That's a very nice set-up you've got out there," George said, changing the subject for his son's benefit. "With the arch and the flowers."

"Mystie deserves most of the credit," Doc said with a shrug. "She initially wanted a church wedding, but I talked her out of it. It felt hypocritical to me, as neither of us are very religious."

"Plus, what self-respecting minister would let the gang from Darkness Falls into a church," Matt teased.

"Or marry two vampires," James added, chuckling.

Louis glared at them. "That's rather rude, you know," he said icily. "I've been friends with many members of the church."

"Jesus, Louis, we were just teasing."

"It's all in the past," Doc said, hoping to keep the peace. "We found a Justice of the Peace to marry us, so we're all set. Then, after the ceremony, it's off to Hawaii for a couple of weeks."

George whistled. "Very romantic, but sounds expensive."

"Ah, who cares, it's my honeymoon. After all, the wedding isn't costing that much -- a rented room at Oak Park's Recreation Center, a reception back at Darkness Falls -- we should be allowed to splurge on that. Didn't you do something similar when you married Lorraine?"

"Well, yeah, but ours was a bust, unfortunately. Our friends say it's the worst honeymoon they've ever heard of in Hill Valley."

"Why, what happened?" asked Doc, getting nervous again.

"Rain. It poured throughout our whole honeymoon. We were basically trapped in our hotel room."

"Damn. I guess we should make some quick plans for inclement weather after the ceremony."

"Come on, when are you going to notice the weather?" James said mischievously. Marty groaned and put his head in his hands. "Sorry."

"It's okay. It's just -- well, it's kinda like hearing about my parents -- ya know."

_That's not how you dealt with it back when we visited 1855._

_Trust me, Doc, I would have stopped you if you'd said anything more. I just _had_ to needle you a little then._

Doc nodded, then checked his watch. "3:12." He stood up, looking a tad weak-kneed. Marty and George helped steady him. Doc smiled at them both, then took a deep breath. "Let's go."

Thursday, February 19th

3:15 P.M.

It was time. The guests were all settled in on their folding chairs. The Justice of the Peace stood in the arch at the front, looking like a groom himself in his black suit. Doc stood before him, glancing around nervously. The room was quite lovely, decorated with white streamers, white and red roses grouped along the aisle and woven into the arch, and red wedding balloons hanging from the ceiling. Doc had to admit, the girls had done a nice job. _Still, I really wish I was out of here and just married,_he thought, fiddling with his coat.

And then -- Mystie appeared, holding a bouquet of white roses with shaky hands. Their eyes met, and suddenly Doc didn't feel nervous at all. He and Mysteria smiled at each other as she made her way down the aisle. Doc had to take her into his arms as she reached him. "You look beautiful," he whispered.

"Thanks. You're so handsome." She gave his clothes a quick once-over. "Although it's funny not to see you dressed up in something more colorful."

Doc chuckled. "While we're on the subject, are the bows _supposed_ to have fangs?" Mystie could only giggle and nod.

After an embrace, the pair turned and faced the Justice of the Peace, Marty and Jennifer beaming on either side. "Friends, we are here today to witness the marriage of Miss Mysteria Lilith Jones and Doctor Emmett Lathrop Brown. The couple have informed me they have written their own vows, so. . . ." He stepped back and nodded to the couple.

Doc turned to Mystie. "Do you want me to go first?" Mystie nodded. "All right." He cleared his throat. "Mysteria Jones, I love you. Ever since you entered my life, I've been on Cloud Nine. I love you more than words can say. I promise to love and honor you for the rest of my life. I promise you everything that I own, everything that I am. Even the blood in these veins is yours." There were a few soft snickers from the vampire guests. Doc turned to Marty and got the rings. "I want to be with you for eternity, Mysteria." He slid the ring onto her finger.

Mysteria sniffed as she gazed into his liquid chocolate eyes. "Emmett Brown, I love you too. You've brought so much to my life, things no other man could. I promise to love and honor you for the rest of my life. I'll stand by you forever, through thick and thin." She slid his ring onto his finger. "I could never love anyone else the way I love you. I'm so happy I'm your bride."

The Justice stepped forward again with a kindly smile. "Well then, by the power vested in me by the state of California and the town of Hill Valley, I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."


	2. Switching Worlds

Chapter 2

Thursday, February 19th

5:52 P.M.

"Ya da da da, ya da da da!"

Doc swept into his house, carrying Mystie in his arms. "Welcome home, Mrs. Brown."

"Oh Emmett." She kissed him. "I have to say, those were some of the sweetest vows ever written."

"And I meant every word." Doc gently lowered Mystie onto the bed. "So, now that the wedding's all over, are you looking forward to the honeymoon?"

Mystie giggled. "Got the tickets right here," she said, pulling them out of the night table drawer. "Two round trip tickets for Hawaii, and our hotel reservation for six days, five nights." She pulled Doc onto the bed. "This is going to be so fun. We can lounge on the beach and nap during the day, then take in the night-life." She stroked his leg. "Among other things."

"Rowr," Doc said, his eyes beginning to lighten.

"Emmett, it's not like we haven't done it before," Mystie said playfully.

"I was a virgin for 65 years. _Any_ sex is cause for celebration." He nipped her neck. "We leave tomorrow, right?"

"Bright and early."

"Great. That lets me see something." He got up and headed toward the garage.

Mystie sat up, looking puzzled. "See something?" she repeated. "It's your wedding night. I thought all you would be interested in seeing was me."

Doc smiled at her. "Trust me, Mystie, this is something important. It has to do with the Temporal Displacement Locator."

"The CB radio-type thing that lets the DeLorean go through space as well as time? You haven't talked about that since this summer, after the Vacation From Hell."

"Well, we've been busy, as you know. But I've still been working on it, and I finally finished the design two days ago. But naturally I wasn't able to take it on a test run."

"So - you're going to do that now?" Mystie asked, getting up.

"Just a quick, five-minute thing. Just to see if I can get to, say Seattle, in the year 1993."

"Emmett, we just got married! I don't want you to go gallivanting off on another adventure so soon! Especially considering all we've already been through." She put a hand on his arm. "Can't you wait until after the honeymoon? The DeLorean won't be going anywhere."

"I suppose I could, but - I did work the entire summer on it. I really want to know if it works." He grinned at her. "Besides, if it does, we could get another week of honeymoon out of it. We'd just have to go to a different island."

"Well, that is kinda tempting. . . ." She put her head on Doc's shoulder. "But I'm just worried something's going to happen that's going to throw all of our plans out of whack."

Doc embraced her. "Don't worry, honey. I promise you that I'll be gone for no more than five minutes. If I am, you have permission to yell at me until you turn blue." Mystie giggled. "Please let me try it out. It'll be preying on my mind all during our honeymoon if you don't."

Mystie sighed. "All right. But I'm holding you to that five minutes."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Doc saluted. "I shall return, my love." He kissed her and headed into the garage. Mystie heard him play around with the DeLorean. _The system's set for April 9th, 1993, Seattle, Washington,_ he informed her mentally. _Just so you know where I'm going._

_Thanks. I'll see you in five minutes. _She felt her husband nod, then moments later heard the DeLorean pull out, take to the sky, and hit 88 mph with a sonic boom. Mystie collapsed back down onto the bed. _Please, let him come back safely. I don't want to lose him, especially not now._

Friday, April 9th, 1993

Seattle, Washington

5:04 A.M.

"Great Scott!"

Doc hung on to the steering wheel for dear life. He couldn't _believe_ how much the DeLorean was shaking! It was so bad, Doc could swear he saw ripples going through his body and the car. _What in the name of Sir Isaac H. Newton is this!_

Finally, the DeLorean stabilized. Doc took a moment to get his bearings and to check for bruises. _Ouch,_ he thought, finding a tender spot. _How odd. I wonder if I hit some sort of airstream. Or maybe, while installing the TDL, I managed to wreck the suspension. But the car made it out of the garage all right. . . . I'll have to investigate further later. First, to see if the TDL worked._

He opened his window and looked below him. Dark rain clouds covered the area. Doc closed his window and ducked under them. The city below was getting drenched with rain. Doc circled for a moment, then spotted the famous Space Needle. He grinned widely. "Yes! It works!" He wiped his brow. "Thank God. Now back to Mystie and to-"

Abruptly, Doc's smile vanished. He became aware of something else for the first time. Something that completely negated all the joy he felt from his successful experiment.

_He couldn't feel Marty's heartbeat._

He sat frozen for a few seconds. Then one hand slapped itself against his chest and pressed down hard. Only one set of pulsations came through - his own. There was no sign of Marty's. _But - how can that be? Marty's blood-linked to me. We know from experience that time travel doesn't affect the bond. What's different about time-space travel?_ Just to be sure, he sent out a message. _Marty? Can you hear me? Say something if you're there._

Nothing. There was dead silence in his brain. _This isn't right,_ Doc thought worriedly, chewing on his nails. _This simply is not right. The telepathic connection might not be able to function beyond a certain distance, but I highly doubt Marty's heartbeat would just disappear! Unless. . .something's happened to him. . . ._ He frantically attacked the keypad. _I have to get home!_

After three tries, he finally input the right date and place. He swung the DeLorean around and hit the gas, accelerating to 88 miles per hour in record time. The trip through time and space was mercifully normal, and Doc quickly found himself high above Hill Valley's Town Square. _Everything here seems to be in order. I'll get home to Mysteria, tell her what happened, then call the McFlys. Great Scott, I hope nothing happened. Today's supposed to be the happiest day of my life. I don't need this stress!_

He flew over to the Burger King, fully intending to land behind it and drive up into his house. But as he looked out his window, he got another shock.

His house was gone. Completely gone. Another structure stood in its place, taller and skinnier. Doc circled around to the front. A large sign read "Gifts-N-Things," the same company that had tried to buy his land after his "death."

Doc had no idea what to do. He flew in circles, panicked thoughts racing through his mind. _What in the name of Sir Isaac H. Newton is going on! Mystie! Mysteria, where are you? Talk to me sweetie, say something! Let me know you're all right! Marty, please, talk to me! Where is everyone? Where's my house? All I did was travel to Seattle and 1993! This shit shouldn't be occurring! I didn't do a thing to alter the past. Something obviously went wrong - but what!_

It occurred to him that he was going to attract attention, flying around like this. He landed behind the Burger King, trying to think of something to do. He finally decided his best plan would be to contact the McFlys and ask them if they knew what had happened to Marty and Mysteria. He pulled out onto the road, praying that he hadn't somehow erased the two people he loved the most out of existence.

The route to the McFly house was the same, he was relieved to see. And the house was the same as well. Feeling his hopes rise a little, he went up to the front door and knocked.

George answered the door, dressed in a yellow turtleneck and blue jeans. _He must have changed right after the reception,_ Doc figured. _Not that I can blame him._ "Oh, hi Dr. Brown. Guess you're here to see Marty, huh?" he smiled.

Doc blinked. George hadn't called him "Dr. Brown" since the early days of their relationship. He shook it off as a mere lapse in speech. "Yes, I am. He's in, right?"

"Yeah, I'll get him for you. Will you come in?"

"No thanks, I'm in a hurry," Doc declined politely. George shrugged and vanished inside, calling for his youngest son. A few minutes later, Marty took his place. "Hey, Doc, what's up? How'd your experiment go?"

Doc grabbed him and felt him all over. Marty gave a little jolt. "Doc?" He tried to squirm away. "What the heck are you doing?"

"You seem to be okay," Doc muttered. "How are you feeling, Marty? Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah, fine. Never been better. Are _you_ okay?"

Doc didn't answer. "Marty, I need your help. Something's very wrong, and I can't figure out what happened. Where's Mystie?"

"Who?"

"Mystie, Mysteria!" Marty just stared blankly at him. "My _wife_?" Doc said, getting frustrated.

"Mystie? What kind of a nickname is that for Clara?"

Now it was Doc's turn to say, "Who?"

Marty frowned. "Clara. Clara Clayton. That gal you saved from falling into the ravine," he said sarcastically.

"Saved from falling into the ravine?" Doc was getting more confused by the second. "When was this?"

"Back when we were in 1885? Don't you remember?"

"I - never mind. Where do this 'Clara' and I live? I can't find my garage."

Marty began to look worried. "Doc, are you feeling okay?" he asked. "You're acting really strange here."

"Please, humor me."

"Uh - When you came back with your family, Dad and I agreed to help you sell your garage so you could buy a house. We sold it, and you insisted we keep five percent. Dad made me put most of my share in a fund for college, but I spent the rest on a trip with Jennifer." He looked into Doc's eyes. "You don't remember any of that?"

Doc slowly shook his head. "No, Marty. I don't. Not a thing."

Marty looked at him a moment, then backed up into the house. "I'm gonna call Clara, okay?"

"If you think that's a good idea," Doc said, following Marty inside.

"Yeah! I mean, she and the kids-"

"_Kids!_ I have _kids_ too?"

"Don't tell me you don't even remember Jules and Verne!"

"No, but they certainly sound like my kids, at any rate."

Marty managed a weak chuckle. "Cute, Doc. Do you even remember why you were in the DeLorean?"

"I was testing my latest invention. The Temporal Displacement Locator. Lets you travel in space when you travel in time."

"Whew. For a second there, I thought you had forgotten everything." He picked up the receiver and dialed. "Hello, Clara? Yeah, it's me. Listen, Doc just got back from his trip - well, that's the thing, he's acting pretty damn weird. Like he's got amnesia or something. Yeah. No, I don't know. He doesn't seem to remember you or the boys. Got me, I'm not good at that sort of stuff. Okay, I'll bring him over in the DeLorean. Yeah. Bye." He hung up. "She wants me to bring you over there. See if seeing her helps jog your memory."

"All right." Doc was absolutely baffled. _What in the name of Sir Isaac H. Newton is going on here! I've never met a Clara in my life! And the only Clayton I know is Clayton Ravine. What happened to Mysteria and my garage and the Darkness Falls vampires? How could testing one invention by going into the future change all of this?_ On an impulse, he pulled Marty into an embrace. "Great Scott, I'm confused."

"Me too," Marty admitted. "But I know we'll work this out. It's not the worst that's happened to us."

"I'll take your word for it." Automatically, one hand slid over Marty's heart to feel the pulsations. Marty glanced down at it, puzzled. "Yeah, Doc, my heart's still there."

Doc closed his eyes. _No, it isn't._


	3. Switching Worlds Too

Chapter 3

Thursday, February 19th, 1987

Hill Valley VD

5:57 P.M.

Doc Emmett Brown whistled happily to himself as he returned to his hometown, just a few minutes after he'd left it to visit Seattle in 1993. His new TDL invention worked perfectly. Sure, there had been some surprisingly rough turbulence as he entered the time period, but he doubted that was from the car. He had probably just hit a pocket of high wind or something. After all, he had come home fine. _I can't wait to tell Clara and the boys the news! Maybe now we can see about that family vacation to Germany._

As he neared home, however, Emmett suddenly got an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. His intuition was informing him something was not right. In fact, whatever that something was, it was as far from right as you could get. He frowned to himself. What could it be? Then he saw it.

His house was abandoned.

Emmett was stunned. He circled it a few times, just to make sure. The roof had fallen partway in, the windows were broken, the garage where he worked was nothing more than a rickety shack, and the grass was tall enough to make a good bushel of hay. There could be no doubt. No one was living - or could live - in this place.

Worried thoughts raced through Emmett's mind. _Great Scott! What in the name of Sir Isaac H. Newton happened to my house! There's no trace of Clara, Jules, or Verne! Did I do something to upset the balance of the space-time continuum? How could I? I went into the future! For five minutes, no less! Where could they have gone?_ He held his head. _Think clearly, Emmett. You need a plan. You need to find Marty. He'll help me find out what's gone wrong._ He landed and swung the car around, heading for the Town Square and Lyon Estates.

After about twenty minutes, he turned onto J.F.K. Drive, where his house had once been. As he drove by, he took a quick glance at the gift shop that had replaced it. What he saw shocked him so much he nearly slammed on his brakes.

His garage/house was still next to the Burger King. Not a sign of "Gifts-N-Things" at all. Not only that, he could also see someone moving around inside!

He pulled to the side of the road, attracting some honks. First, he checked that he was seeing what he thought he saw. Maybe he had been distracted and only _thought_ he had seen his old house. Nope - still there. He checked the time circuit display system to verify that it was the right year. That was right too - February 19th, 1987, 6:19 P.M.

_But it doesn't make sense!_ he thought, staring at the structure only a few feet away. _George and Marty sold my garage when I came home with my family. "Gifts-N-Things" owns the land now. My garage is gone. Or, it _was_ gone._

Emmett started at it for a while more, then decided to investigate. At least his old home was familiar territory to him. He drove back across the street and parked in the Burger King lot that bled into his land. The door, he discovered, was unlocked, allowing him to stick his head in. The place did look like his garage, but it was - neater. It had a woman's touch. "Hello?"

A woman he'd never seen before got up from his bed. She was thin, with long black hair and icy blue eyes. She was attired in an absolutely beautiful white dress with red embroidery. Emmett vaguely thought she was pretty, but the sight of a woman in his house had awakened more feelings of concern for Clara.

The mystery woman crossed her arms and scowled at him. "Five minutes, huh? And now you're trying to sneak in the front door." Her scowl turned into a playful grin. "You're a very bad boy, Dr. Brown. I think I know how to get you. You shouldn't tell your weakness to a woman, honey."

_HONEY!_ "I - uh-"

"So how did it work, anyway?"

"It?"

"You know, the T - D-"

She stopped suddenly, her loving look replaced by a confused one. She motioned him inside. Emmett obeyed, reluctantly. She walked right up to him - and _sniffed_ him. Fright took the place of the confusion. She hurriedly stepped back and grabbed a heavy flask sitting nearby. "Okay, what's the deal? Who are you!"

"Last time I checked, Dr. Emmett L. Brown."

"Not the last time _I_ checked," the woman growled, waving the flask in a threatening manner. Emmett held up his hands in surrender. "I know you're not him. What have you done with Emmett?"

Before Emmett could answer, there was a crash in the garage. Marty McFly exploded through the door, out of breath, his face dead white. Following him closely was a worried-looking Jennifer Parker. For some reason, Marty was wearing the shirt and pants of a tux, while Jennifer was in what appeared to be a bridesmaid's dress. The woman stared at them, momentarily forgetting her visitor. "Marty! What's wrong?"

"It's gone, Myst. It's gone. I can't feel him anymore," Marty said in a strangled whisper. "One minute, everything was normal, the next - I was alone. Mystie, what happened to him!"

"He's right there in the door," Jennifer said, looking at Emmett in bafflement.

"That's not Emmett," Mystie said, once again making threatening moves with the flask. Emmett kept his hands up. "His smell's wrong - well, it's right, but it's wrong too - and his clothes are different. Where's _my_ Emmett?"

"Yeah, who are you?" Marty demanded,

"A very confused time traveler who was merely trying to test an invention," Emmett said quickly. "May I ask who you are, Miss ?"

"My name's Mysteria Brown, nee Jones. Now where's Emmett?"

"I don't know!" Emmett snapped. "I have a few questions of my own - such as why are you and my garage here? As far as I know, you and I have never met, and this garage was torn down to make way for a gift shop!"

Mystie, Marty, and Jennifer all shared a glance. "Oo-kay," Mystie said, sniffing him again. "You say you're a time traveler testing an invention. What sort of invention?"

"The Temporal Displacement Locator - TDL for short. All I did was go to Seattle in 1993."

Mysteria lowered the flask a little. "That's what Emmett was testing," she admitted softly. "And that's where he said he was going. But - you're not him. I know my husband."

Emmett's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "_Husband!_"

"Yes. Didn't you hear me? I said my name was Mysteria _Brown._"

Emmett shook his head. "That's not right. I'm already married. I have a wife and two kids. Clara, Jules and Verne," he said firmly.

Jennifer couldn't hold back a smile. "Well, I believe those would be your kids, but they're certainly not here."

Emmett felt his eyes begin to tear up. "My - my family's gone? My house, my wife, my kids. . . . Damn it, where am I? This can't be Hill Valley!"

Mysteria relented with the flask. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't going to hurt any of them. "Sit down. Maybe we can figure this out together."

He sat down. "I noticed this place is neater than I remembered it," he muttered.

"I've been living here with - you," Mystie explained as everyone pulled up a chair. Emmett noticed Marty kept looking at him, then down at his heart. "I _knew_ I shouldn't have let him take the time machine! I didn't want anything like this to happen today!"

Emmett looked at everyone's clothes. "Are you renewing your vows today?"

"Actually, they just got married," Jennifer said, holding Marty's hand.

"Married? Great Scott!"

"Relax, it's after the ceremony," Mystie said. "My Emmett convinced me to let him test the TDL before we went on our honeymoon."

Emmett groaned. "Oh no. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault. You couldn't have known he would disappear." Mystie stared at him. "Jesus, this is weird. I'm used to encountering future or past versions of you - not ones of the same age."

"Tell me about it," Emmett agreed, looking around the garage/house again. "I didn't think I'd ever see this place again. It's like I've landed in a whole other world. An alternate reality."

He blinked suddenly, looking quite thoughtful. "Alternate reality," he repeated slowly. "Yes, that might explain it. Like the 1985-A we created with the sports almanac. A time-line change of some sort. Although. . . ." He turned to Marty, who was massaging the flesh above his heart. "Marty, let's cut right to the chase. Did you or did you not go to 1955 by accident after I demonstrated my DeLorean time machine to you?"

Marty nodded. "Yeah. I ended up changing the way my parents met and made them better parents for it."

"All right. Did you or did you not buy Gray's Sports Almanac when I took you and Jennifer to the future?"

Marty looked puzzled at this. "Uh, no. Jennifer wanted to buy it, but I convinced her that it would be a bad idea."

Emmett frowned. "That's not right. According my memories, Jennifer should have been unconscious in an alley. You bought the almanac alone via thumb credit."

Marty and Jennifer looked at each other. "Unconscious in an alley?" Jennifer repeated. "Why would that be?"

"Are we talking about the same trip here?" Marty added.

"Didn't I take you two to the future the morning after you got back from 1955?"

Marty and Jennifer both shook their heads. "Nope. You - _he_ didn't even come back until the 27th. We went to the future on my birthday last year. It was his present to me - along with a kicking new guitar."

Emmett's spirits sank. "Then my hypothesis is correct. By testing my invention, I somehow passed into a whole new reality. But how? The TDL is only designed to bring you to different places, not different worlds!" He furrowed his brow. "Another short circuit in the design? Or maybe this was just a random event. Maybe I found a hole in the fabric of the space-time continuum." He suddenly looked back at Marty, concerned. "Were you in an accident on the 27th?"

"I was going to be, but my Doc warned me off it. Why, was yours?"

"No. I was just wondering - because it was through our adventures together that my Marty avoided it. How did he warn you off it?"

"It was kinda silly, really. He just told me not to drag-race Needles, saying that if I did, I'd regret it. I couldn't pry anything else about my future out of him." He blushed. "Which resulted in me thinking I was going to _die_ if I got into that stupid drag race, so I faked Needles out. Doc told me later I would have just smashed my hand up, but. . . ."

Emmett stared at him a moment, then got up and banged his head into the wall. "Whoa, what are you doing!" Mysteria cried, getting up and pulling him away. Emmett was stunned at the strength he could feel in her arms. "Stop that!"

"Yeah, that's kinda disconcerting," Marty agreed, also getting to his feet.

"Sorry, but I feel like a complete idiot now! That's all it took, huh? Withholding enough of your future so you'd frighten yourself into not doing it. Damn, how could I have been so blind. . . ."

"What did you do?" Jennifer asked, now curious.

"Honestly? Sort of panicked. Did your Dr. Brown tell you about how your life was going downhill?" Marty nodded, making a face. "Well, my plan was to sort of shock you by letting you see it firsthand, while simultaneously saving your son from a jail sentence. He was going to be bullied into a robbery by Griff Tannen on the same day you lost your job. After you'd rescued Marty Junior and realized what a mess you were in, I was going to give you your way out." He blushed at Jennifer. "I didn't factor in your presence when I came and picked Marty up. I ended up knocking you unconscious and leaving you in an alley, thinking you'd be safe. I was a complete idiot, I admit that," he rushed to add, seeing Jennifer turn red with anger. "You were found by the cops, and one thing led to another until I was stuck in the Old West. I ended marrying a woman I met there, Clara, and we had two sons, Jules and Verne. I built a second time machine and returned to the present in 1986."

"Wow, sounds like quite a trip," Mysteria said, stunned.

"It was. Understandably, Marty and I are avoiding most time travel at the moment." He leaned against the wall. "How did I meet you?"

"At a Halloween party hosted by some friends. It was love at first sight. We got engaged in December of 1985. But - well, we've had some nasty experiences with Biff and his gang, so we had to put off the wedding."

"He didn't steal your time machine, did he?" Emmett asked, feeling a sick lurch in his stomach as he remembered Hell Valley.

"Well, no, but a colleague of yours managed to build one, and he got his paws on _that_. We managed to stop him from destroying the space-time continuum." She sighed deeply. "Thank God he's out of the picture. He died during our last tangle."

"Sounds like you've had a number of adventures yourself." Emmett paced a moment, then sighed. "I haven't a clue how I could have altered the time-line to create this world. Maybe when your Dr. Brown gets back, he can help us figure this out."

"I certainly hope so," Mystie said, looking worried. "I'd like to know what happened to _him_. My Emmett promised to be back in five minutes. That's why I was scowling at you before. Now that this has happened. . .I'm getting kind of worried."

"Me too," Marty said, his hand sliding up to his heart again. "I just _know_ something's happened to our Doc. I can feel it."

Jennifer suddenly had a very nasty thought. "Oh boy. I think I know what happened to our Doc." Everyone turned to look at her, eager for answers. "I'm not too sure on the whole science of it, but - This Doc ended up in our world after testing the TDL. Our Doc was testing the same thing, at the same place. What if, _our _Doc is in _his_ world?"


	4. Basic Differences

Chapter 4

Thursday, February 19th, 1987

Hill Valley Trilogy

6:23 P.M.

Doc looked all around as Marty drove him to "his" house in his DeLorean. He felt extremely on-edge. After all he had gone through with Biff and the soulless vampires, the last thing he had wanted was another adventure. _Why didn't I listen to Mysteria?_ he thought angrily. _I could have been safe and sound on my honeymoon by now. Damn my scientific curiosity. Damn it!_

Marty noticed his unease. "Still don't remember anything?" he asked, concerned.

Doc shook his head. "I don't even know where we're going. I'm used to traveling to my garage."

Marty reached out and patted his arm. "Well, we'll see if Clara can help fix this weird amnesia." He stopped at an intersection, then turned left.

Doc frowned, suddenly realizing where they were. "Wasn't this area abandoned when the farms shut down?" he asked.

"Yeah, mostly. That's why you thought it was the perfect place to live. No nosey neighbors." He pulled up in front of a brown farmhouse. "Welcome home, Doc."

Doc stared. Although the place physically resembled the houses on either side, it had been fixed up extensively. It was two stories with a large room and probably a corresponding large attic. Nearby was a large garage. In the front yard, a pair of boys were rough-housing, yelling playful insults at each other. Sitting on the steps was a woman, watching them with a exasperated expression.

Marty got out of the car, smiling. "Hey, Jules, Verne!"

The boys broke apart as Doc got out. Doc studied them carefully. One was slightly taller, with dark brown hair and brown eyes that resembled his own. His smell reminded Doc of a stable. The other was blond and blue-eyed, and smelt like pine trees. They grinned at him and Marty, obviously quite happy to see them. "Hi Marty, hi Papa," the taller one called.

Marty turned to Doc, now frowning with concern. "You remember anything? Which one is which, at least?"

_How can I remember someone I've never seen before?_ He shook his head. "No, although I conjecture the taller one is Jules." The boy nodded, looking puzzled. "You kids were wrestling a little, huh?" he said, trying to sound friendly. He had nothing to lose by being nice, after all.

"Jules got me from behind," blond Verne complained.

"Not like you haven't done the same to me before," Jules retorted.

"Now boys, no fighting," the woman said, getting up off the steps. Doc turned to give her a closer look. She appeared to be roughly middle age, with long, curly brown hair and deep blue eyes. She smelled of fresh daises. Seeing her brought on a fresh burst of worry about Mystie. _What happened to her? Is she safe?_

The woman she had to be the "Clara" Marty had mentioned earlier gave him a loving glance. "Emmett, honey, how are you feeling?" she asked gently, putting a hand on his arm.

"Confused," Doc admitted. "I I'm sorry, but I don't remember any of this. As far as I know, this house was abandoned."

Clara looked upset. "You don't remember me or the boys at all?" Doc shook his head. "But you remember Marty. . . ."

Doc's head was starting to ache. "I don't know what the he" he noticed the boys still looking at him "ck's going on anymore," he said, collapsing onto the steps. "I feel like I've entered another dimension here!"

As soon as he said the words, it occurred to Doc that it might just be the truth. Maybe he _had_ somehow ended up in another dimension, where things had worked out differently, both with the time machine and his choice of wife. He had no idea how it could have happened, but it would certainly explain a lot. _But then where is the Dr. Emmett Brown of this dimension? Shouldn't he have come home by now? Or did something similar happen to him? Great Scott, he might even be in MY dimension. . . ._

"Papa, are you all right? You look pale," Verne commented.

"I just need to sit down and figure out what's going on," Doc said, more to Clara and Marty than the boys. "Get my thoughts straight, as it were."

"Yes, that's probably a good idea," Clara nodded. Doc could sense that she was feeling afraid. _I wish I could calm her, but I'm not in the best state of mind for that._ "Your study's on the second floor, the third room."

"Thanks. I'll try my best to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it." He quickly walked inside, leaving Marty and Clara to whisper behind him.

Thursday, February 19th

6:29 P.M.

"Are you sure about this, Jiff?"

Jiff Tannen looked up at his twin brother Bill. "Positive. The old coot has to be loaded. We've seen some of the stuff he has around. You'd have to be damn rich to buy it or invent it."

Bill shuffled nervously. "They say he's crazy, Jiff. That he's dangerous."

"I'm not denying that," Jiff said, holding up his hands. "I"m saying he's got cash. Lots of it, too. And if we get it, we'll never have to worry about money again."

"What will Dad say, though?"

Jiff had to laugh. "If anything, he'll be proud of us! Dad was a real badass back in his day, even if he is a sniveling wimp now. We might as well live up to our Tannen name."

Bill still seemed rather hesitant. "Jiff, if we get caught, we're going to be in a shitload of trouble."

Jiff glared at him. "What kind of wuss are you? Don't you want to be rich? Don't you want to be a true Tannen!"

"Well yeah," Bill conceded. "You're right. When do we do it?"

Jiff grinned. "Tonight. Around 8:30. They'll never suspect a thing."

Thursday, February 19th

6:31 P.M.

Doc had little trouble finding the study. All he hadto do was follow the ticking. The study looked like a miniature version of his lab at home. Clocks were crammed onto the walls and tables, all in perfect sync. A desk with an odd-looking computer was set up in one corner. Across from it was a table with various mechanical parts and a few flasks strewn over it. Over the table hung a blackboard with various drawings and equations on it. Doc recognized with a start some of his own plans for the TDL.

He sat down at the desk, already feeling a bit more at ease. Being in somewhat more familiar surroundings definitely helped. His head already felt a little clearer. _All right, let's get the facts straight. While testing my Temporal Displacement Locator, I managed to not only transverse time and space, but dimensions as well. This accounts for my new family and my link to Marty being severed._ He reached up and clutched at the flesh over his heart. _It almost hurts, not being connected to him. I've only had it for about a year, you think I wouldn't regret its loss so much. But damn, I miss it. _He felt his eyes start to water. _No, I can't cry. I have to figure out what exactly happened to this Dr. Brown. Maybe it'll give me a clue on how to get home. I know he has a time machine much like mine, otherwise they'd know I wasn't the right one either. And that he married earlier than I did, had a family, and bought a proper house. But how did all this come about?_

Doc realized he was hyperventilating. He closed his eyes and forced himself to take deep, even breaths. _I can't panic here. I have to figure out what happened so I can figure out how to fix it. Maybe my other self has some notes. . . ._ Struck by this hopeful thought, Doc began searching the desk. Within minutes, he was rewarded. In the middle left-hand drawer was a stack of journals, with the title "My Memoirs." Doc lifted out the stack and slipped the first one out from the bottom of the pile. "November 6th, 1955 Too much happened to me to properly update, so I'll take care of both today and tomorrow right now. The most incredible thing has happened. A boy from the future. . . ."

Doc closed it with a slight smile. "Too early," he said, going on to one a few journals above.

He sped through the majority of the journals, as they merely detailed life from 1955 onward. So far, everything between his life and his "twin's" looked the same. They'd both taught at the local university from 1956 to 1966, both had a terrible love affair with Jill Wooster, and both burned down their mansion in 1962. Then Doc stumbled upon a strange entry with two dates:

"_October 26th, 1985/October 27th, 2015_

_Marty's safe and sound back in 1985. We made it back to his home with no complications. I'll remember the look on his face when he saw me sit up forever. I feel so guilty now for making him believe I was dead. I know it was for the sake of the space-time continuum, but I've never seen Marty cry like that. At least the whole nasty experience is over with._

_I've spent the past two days here in the future. I'm devastated to report that Marty does not have a happy life here. The day after I go into the future, he manages to break his hand in an automobile accident of some sort. He didn't give me the details said it brought back too many bad memories. He's now living in a not-so-good section of town, and recently lost his job at Cusco Industries. Great Scott. . .when I met him yesterday, he didn't seem like the same guy. He looked soold. Balding, paunchy, age lines everywhere. . . . Jennifer looked even worse. She didn't even seem to recognize me._

_They have two kids, twins Marty Junior and Marlene. Marty Junior looks almost exactly like Marty, but has inherited the personality of George McFly of 1955. Which is unfortunate, as this means Marty Junior is a complete wimp and has done something _

_very_

_Check that. Both Marty Junior AND Marlene have done something very stupid, it appears, according to this latest news report. Now both of the McFly children are in jail."_

Doc nearly dropped the book in shock. _In JAIL! What had they done? Why didn't I hear about this when I went to the future? Then again, it is a week later than I went. . . ._

"_Marty Junior was convicted of armed robbery in the early hours of the 22nd. He told me, as he earlier told the press, that Griff Tannen had bullied him into it. I have Hill Valley Edition of USA Today next to me to confirm that. Marlene, it appears, was just convicted of trying to break him out of prison. I can't believe all this is happening. Marty's a good kid. He doesn't deserve this kind of future._

_So, my path is clear. I _must _prevent this future from happening. Marty's my best friend he saved my life, for Newton's sake. I know exactly what to do. I'll go back to 1985, pick Marty up, and take him October 21st, 2015, to stop his kids from getting into this mess. Hopefully seeing his kids in such a bad spot will shock him into wanting to help them. Then I'll explain about the car accident and let things go from there."_

There it was. The fundamental difference between his world and the world he currently occupied. Doc closed the journal for a moment, marking his current page with his thumb. "I took Marty to the future," he said aloud. "Instead of simply _warning_ him about the dangers of his chicken complex, I rushed him to the future. What the hell was I thinking? I of all people should know that to change the future, you should focus on changing the past!"

He read the entry again. _Well, it does appear I didn't know the sort of accident Marty was in,_ he thought, his opinion of his other self softening. _And I do have to consider the circumstances surrounding my decision. I'd just learned my best friend's life had gone into the toilet, and that both his kids were in jail. I suppose that lends itself to hasty decision making._ His curiosity was sparked. _What other adventures has my other self had? No, I shouldn't waste time reading all of his entries. I have to figure out how to get back to my home dimension. But reading these other entries might help me with that. Maybe my other self has experience with different dimensions. Besides, I'm still not sure how to approach Clara and the other Marty. They seemed so _nervous_ around me. Best to give them a bit to settle._ He flipped to the next entry and settled in for a long read.


	5. Danger Will Robinson

Chapter 5

Thursday, February 19th, 1987

Hill Valley VD

6:20 P.M.

"This is bad. This is very bad," Emmett said, pacing the room. "If your Dr. Brown is in my dimension, it could mean we're stuck."

"Stuck?" Mystie repeated, not liking the sound of the word.

"I could be trapped here forever, and vice-versa." He sighed. "I certainly don't want that. I have a family who will miss me terribly. I miss them already. And I'm positive you want your husband back."

"Badly," Mystie nodded. "Who _is_ your wife in the other dimension, anyway?"

"Her name is Clara Clayton. She was a schoolteacher back in 1885. I got thrown back there by a stray lightning bolt, and I ended up saving her life."

"Clara Clayton? Of Clayton Ravine?" Jennifer blurted.

"Exactly. I saved her from going over the edge, and we fell in love the minute our eyes met." He glanced over at Mystie and frowned. "Well, maybe. Seeing myself married to another woman shakes up that idea."

"It makes me feel pretty weird too," Mysteria admitted. "I mean, I love my Emmett. His smile, his voice, his hair, his eyes. . . . You know, you have the most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen."

Emmett blushed a little. "Well, thank you. Clara's said that they're her favorite feature too." He suddenly smirked a little. "Do you like Jules Verne?"

"Love him." Mysteria smirked back. "Why, am I not as different from her as you thought?"

"I'm just saying, I'd be likely to marry the same _type_ of woman." He sighed deeply. "Damn, I miss my family. I hope your Dr. Brown wasn't too surprised by the boys."

"Kids. I can't believe it," Marty shook his head.

Emmett smiled proudly. "Neither could my Marty, at first. And I really gave him a shock with the names Jules Clint and Verne Calvin."

Marty couldn't help but smile a little. "Calvin I know from 'Calvin Klein,' but Clint?"

"Your other self went by the name of Clint Eastwood back in 1885."

Jennifer giggled. "I still think it's funny you named them Jules Verne."

"Well, he's Clara's favorite author too. . . ."

"If you've got them waiting for you back there, we gotta figure out how to get you home pronto," Marty said, getting up. "You think your family will have noticed the difference?"

"I hope so. That would make our lives"

Emmett suddenly had a _very_ nasty thought. "Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh?" Mysteria repeated, not liking the sound of his voice.

"I just thought of a _major_ obstacle we could encounter. Clara's already _had_ an experience with an alternate version of myself."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Not in this case. It's well, back in 1986, Marty and Clara were having some problems getting along. They were pushing each other's buttons and such. One day, Marty and I got into a fight over their problems, which culminated in a childish shoving match. Just as we were finishing, another Clara, bruised and disheveled, shows up on our door. And a few minutes later" Emmett swallowed. "So did I. Another version of me, from the near future. With a knife to Marty's throat."

Marty's eyes went wide. "What?" he squeaked.

"Clara explained it all to us later. Apparently, if we had finished the fight without her showing up, I would have accidentally killed Marty. My older self had gone completely insane from the guilt. According to her, my psychotic self was obsessed with getting 'revenge' for Marty by murdering her and the children. He'd already killed Einstein and the majority of the McFly family before she went back in time."

"Holy shit," Jennifer whispered, horrified.

"We both still have nightmares," Emmett nodded, wiping his eyes. "Now I'm afraid that your Dr. Brown might get hurt if he's in my reality. Clara's almost certain not to trust him. It's even possible she might kill him if she thought he was threatening her. Although that's highly unlikely," he rushed to add as Mysteria and Marty both went very white. "Even though he nearly killed her, she couldn't kill my psychotic self."

"So what happened to him?" Jennifer asked, looking like she really didn't want to know.

"Tried to kill all of us, but ended up falling down a flight of stairs to his death, thanks to Einstein. Marty and I dumped the body where it wouldn't be noticed. Although, technically, you could say he never existed, as Clara prevented the accident from happening when she went back in time. I'm just thankful the kids weren't home that day to see anything." Emmett took a deep breath. "Let's get down to business. I hate having to remember that day."

Thursday, February 19th, 1987

Hill Valley Trilogy

7:34 P.M.

Doc rubbed his eyes as he finished another journal. _My other self has had quite the exciting life,_ he thought, setting the book aside. _First Jennifer being whisked along on the adventure by accident; then being kidnaped by the police and taken to her own future home I wonder if her experiences were anything like mine? Then there's the alternate 1985 which Biff created and ruled_Doc couldn't repress a slight shudder at that. He still remembered the world they had seen ruled by the vampire Biff. _At least they got that Sports Almanac away from him back in 1955. Then my other self is sent back to 1885, is followed there by Marty when he learns I'm about to be killed, and I end up falling in love with Clara Clayton and sending Marty home alone. All because Marty Junior got into some trouble and I decided to take Marty to the future._

He shook his head as he picked up the next journal. _This is fascinating. Even with a time machine, even with Marty's own example with his parents, I never thought much about what would happen if there were just a few small changes in my life. One way, I've been turned into a vampire and have just gotten married. Another way, and I'd have become a cowboy, married an Old West schoolteacher, and had two young boys. I still don't know how I got home, though. Did Marty manage to come back for me a third time?_ He flipped open the book. _Only one way to find out._

"_September 9th, 1885_

_Clara and I have become officially engaged! I bought her the ring this morning and proposed. Of course she said yes. We knew we were going to wed from the moment our eyes first met. We plan to be married by the end of the month, if not sooner. Everyone in town is happy for us, but I've heard a lot of questions about my age as compared to Clara's. We're going to have to figure out some way to get around that. . . ._

_Meanwhile, I have already started drafting plans for a new time machine. Although I don't have access to stainless steel or advanced electronics in this time period, I'm going to have to do my best. Having Marty spend a few days back here with me really woke me up to how badly I could be affecting the time-line. Especially now that I've saved Clara from her intended death. I have to go back to 1985 as soon as possible. _

_Clara, although understandably nervous, supports me completely. She's quite curious to see the future, actually. And I think she knows how much I already miss Marty. Hopefully I'll find a way to build a new flux capacitor._

_Clara just told me if I can build a refrigerator back here, I can certainly handle a time machine. God, I love that woman."_

Doc had to laugh at that. The next few pages were drawings of how to construct working time machine parts. Doc carefully scanned them, making notes of any truly pertinent points. After all, you never knew what accidents could happen with a time machine. Case in point, his situation right now.

There were a few more entries on his and Clara's wedding and their short honeymoon then a page that was shockingly water-stained. His curiosity perked, Doc paused and read the entry.

"_September 21st 1885_

_There was a formal dedication today. Thanks to my story, this whole town regards Marty (or as they know him, Clint Eastwood) as the hero he really is. The ravine in which he "died" has been named after him in his honor._

_As the ceremony progressed, I heard the whistle of a train in the distance. I asked Seamus about it, and he he reminds me of Marty, goddamn it, how can I even look him in the face, knowing what I've done_

_Anyway, I asked Seamus, and he told me it was the 11 A.M. train that day, right on time. I smiled back, and and _

_I'm sorry, my hands are shaking. I told Seamus that it was the same thing back home for me._

_And that's when it hit me._

_Oh God. . . . I _swear_ I meant to say P.M.! I swear on my inventions, on my love for Clara, on my _life_! I meant to say P.M.! A.M. just slipped out in the heat of the moment! This scene just keeps replaying over and over in my head. Marty arrives back in the future, is all ready to resume his life and suddenly this freight train is coming right at him and he can't get out of the way in time _

_I KILLED MY BEST FRIEND!"_

Doc felt his own eyes well up in sympathy. Now he understood why this page had suffered so much water damage. His other self must have been sobbing. To think that he might have murdered Marty. . . .

He blinked the tears back. _You can't cry. It wasn't even your Marty, for Newton's sake. And obviously he survived, he was there to greet me._

_But I miss _my_ Marty now. Not being able to feel his heartbeat anymore. It's like he _is_ dead. Great Scott, what if I'm trapped here permanently! I'll never see him again! Well, I will, but it won't be the same Marty. And I'll never see Mysteria again either. I'll be married to this strange woman whom I've never met before. With two kids who aren't really my own._ The tears came back with a vengeance._ Damn it, I want to go home. I want to be with my Mystie, on our honeymoon. I want to feel Marty's heartbeat again._

A knock at the door interrupted his bout of pity. "Emmett? Sweetheart, can we talk?"

Doc closed the journal. "Sure, Clara," he replied, getting up. "I've gotten all caught up on 'my' past history. What have you told the boys?"

"Just that Papa suffered an accident and he needed some time to rest and recover."

Doc paused. Clara's tone sounded almost too sweet. Like she was hiding something. "Is Marty still around?"

"Yes, he's downstairs at the moment, getting a snack. We figured it was best to let you get reacclimated to your home, considering the extent of your illness. What have you been doing?"

"Rereading my journals. Fascinating stuff, let me tell you." Doc opened the door

And found himself staring down the barrel of a shotgun.

Thursday, February 19th, 1987

Hill Valley VD

6:24 P.M.

Emmett paced for a few minutes, sorting out the facts in his head. "All right." He pulled his blackboard into the center of the room. "Let's get all our information down in one place. We know that both I and my other self were testing the Temporal Displacement Locator. And that something occurred during this test to make us switch dimensions."

"And that our Doc might be in danger," Marty added, looking physically sick at the thought.

"Yes, unfortunately, so speed is of the essence. Now, let's come up with some theories. Can we all agree that it was most likely the fault of the DeLorean that this happened?" Nods all around. "Considering that we were both testing the same invention, I'm tempted to say it has to do with the TDL. I'm loath to take the car apart, but I may have to, to discover the problem."

Mystie, Marty, and Jennifer looked at each other dubiously. "That sounds pretty risky," Jennifer noted.

"I know, but. . . ." Emmett shrugged fatalistically. "That's more or less a last resort issue, however. There has to be other ideas we can try first."

"Why don't we try retracing your temporal steps?" Mystie suggested. "That could give us some clues."

"Excellent idea, Mysteria. All three of you could come along with me when I had my new DeLorean converted for time travel, I had the garage rebuild it into a four-seater."

"Ironic, our Emmett did the same thing with his DeLorean."

"If nobody minds, I'll stay here," Jennifer said quickly. "I'm really not in the mood to go hopping through time, especially if we could get lost in another dimension. And somebody should stay behind just in case our Doc manages to get back."

"Good thinking. You stay here then. And if we're not back in two hours, tell the McFlys what happened."

"Don't talk like that. You're coming back," Jennifer almost threatened. Her eyes were wide and fearful, silently begging her friends not to go. "I know you too well. You have to come back."

Marty kissed her. "Believe me, Jennifer, I'd move mountains to get back to you. But I have to go. Doc's my best friend. We've saved each other's asses too many times for me to chicken out here."

"This is my husband that could be in danger," Mysteria nodded. "Any blushing bride would do the same." She thought about it for a moment. "Well, maybe not, but it's the principle of the thing." She squeezed Jennifer. "But we'll do everything we can to get back. I promise you that."

Emmett suddenly felt a little awkward. _Wow. We're certainly a tight-knit group in this world. My family isn't quite that close to Marty, and I'm not that close to Jennifer. I mean, it's not like we're all not friends back home, but It's like they're a little family._ _Wow. _"We we should get going," he said.

"Okay." Mystie and Marty gave Jennifer a final hug, then joined Emmett in his DeLorean. "You came here from Seattle, correct?"

"Correct."

"Then that's where we start."


	6. Double Double Trouble

Chapter 6

Thursday, February 19th, 1987

Trilogy Hill Valley

7:36 P.M.

Doc stared at the gun, heart beating like a trip hammer. The shock of being greeted like this temporarily froze his brain. "C-Clara?"

"That's _Mrs. Brown_ to you," Clara growled. She didn't look anything like the sweet and pretty woman he had encountered outside. Now she wore a terrifying snarl. She looked almost ready to pounce on him.

"Mrs. Brown," Doc quickly nodded. "Can I ask what's the reason for this?"

"You know why. I'm not letting anything happen to me or my family this time around." Her voice began to shake a little. "Not after what happened with the last one."

"Last one?" Doc asked, completely baffled. He could tell Clara was quite frightened of him, and he didn't understand it at all. _Why would she be scared of me? I look just like her husband, don't I?_

"It's none of your business!" Clara shouted, her voice growing steady again with rage. "Get your hands above your head."

Doc obeyed immediately. Despite the fact he knew being shot couldn't really hurt him, he didn't really want to have to experience that pain. Plus, it probably wouldn't help his situation if Clara saw him heal that quickly. "Please, there's another way to handle this," he said nervously.

"No there isn't. Now you're going to answer some questions. Where's my husband?"

"My other self? I don't know. I swear. I'm not even sure how I ended up in this dimension."

"Then where are you from?"

"A different version of Hill Valley. One where I have a different wife. Mysteria." He looked at her pleadingly. "We just got married. Please, Mrs. Brown, I -- I just want to go home. I'm not going to hurt any of you. There's no reason to threaten me like this."

"Oh yeah? I can think of one good reason. _Where's my husband_?"

"I don't know! As far as I can tell, he's either lost in time in his DeLorean, or he ended up in my dimension!"

Clara nodded, her eyes like ice. "For your sake, he'd better be here. Sit down and be quiet." Doc nodded and sat. She backed out of room, and then slammed the door shut. Doc heard the lock click. "And don't try to get out!"

Doc waited for her to go away, then shakily got to his feet. _What in the name of Sir Isaac H. Newton just happened here? Why would Clara threaten me with a gun? I'm not her husband, granted, but I haven't done a thing to hurt her or her family. I'm still Emmett Lathrop Brown. Why doesn't she trust me?_

He went over to the door. _Should I force my way out? A little lock shouldn't be able to hold in a vampire. No, that would just convince her she has reason to fear me. Best to stay in here until either my other self comes back or she comes to her senses and realizes I'm not a threat. _He sat down, listening carefully to see if he could figure out what she was up to. He located her voice and the other Marty's downstairs. "Whatcha do to him, Clara?"

"Locked him in Emmett's study. He wouldn't tell me where Emmett was. Said he didn't know."

"Jesus. I hope nothing bad's happened to the Doc."

"Me too, Marty. God, this brings back some bad memories."

"Mama, will Papa be all right?" Verne's voice asked.

"I hope so, Vernie."

"Did you really have to lock this other one up? He seemed nice," Jules complained.

"I'm sorry, honey, but you don't remember what happened with the last one. I'm not going to put us all in danger."

As if to provide an ironic counterpoint to her words, Doc heard a door suddenly fly open. "All right, everybody on the ground!"

"What the--" Clara gasped.

"Jiff! Bill!" Marty yelled. _Jiff? As in Jiff Tannen? Great Scott._ "What the hell are you doing!"

"Taking this place, McFly. So on the floor or the kids get it."

"Don't you _dare_ threaten Jules and Verne!" Doc could almost picture Clara aiming her rifle at them. "Now you get out, or I'll shoot you!"

"Go ahead, pretty lady! We aren't afraid of you!"

Doc bonked his head against the door. "You really shouldn't have said that, boys," he muttered. He heard Clara pull the trigger --

And nothing else.

Clara was understandably baffled. She tried again. Still nothing but a click. Doc heard her snap the gun open, then moan loudly. "Oh, no. . . ."

"Let me guess," came Marty's miserable voice. "Doc didn't reload it."

There was a pair of cruel cackles from downstairs. "Trust us, our guns _are_ loaded. On the floor, bitch."

Thursday, February 19th, 1987

VD Seattle, Washington

7:34 P.M.

With a loud triple boom, Emmett and his entourage arrived over Seattle. "All right," he said, feeling satisfied. "Random time travel does not lead to random dimension skipping."

"So far," Mystie qualified. She looked out at the river pouring down from the sky. "Christ, is it always like this here?"

"I'd rather be here than in certain parts of California," Emmett said, grimacing. "Was my other self mugged twice in L.A. visiting Emily?"

"Yup, in 1984," Marty nodded.

"That's what I thought. I thought maybe it -- well, why wouldn't it have happened? We're still basically the same person. It takes only one major divergence to create a truly alternate reality. Up until 1985, our lives may have been virtually identical."

Marty was about to say something else when he spotted something hanging in the air. A sort of -- shimmer, a few feet to the left of them. He watched it for a moment, making sure it wasn't some sort of visual trick caused by the rain. Mystie noticed his intent look, then saw it herself. "Doctor, what do you make of that?" she asked, pointing. "It looks like a time ripple to me."

Emmett looked. "Time ripple? You mean a visible change in time's course?"

"Yeah, exactly. We've seen them before. They can get pretty nasty." Mystie cocked her head. "Although -- that's just staying in one place. Time ripples move."

"What if it's not a time ripple?" Marty said, abruptly getting an idea. "What if it's some sort of doorway back to your dimension, Doctor?"

Emmett and Mystie both turned to look at him, surprised. "Do you really think so?"

"Hey, look at the facts! This is where both of the Docs came for their test, and where they both ended up after the switch. It's not inconceivable to think that when they changed dimensions, they opened up a sort of door, right?"

Emmett was stunned -- impressed, but stunned. When had Marty learned to think so logically? Well, it wasn't that hard to figure out, but -- the way he had said it -- it was almost like it was him who was talking. Indeed, Marty and Mystie appeared to have recognized that fact as well -- Marty was blushing while Mysteria smirked. "Very good thinking there, Marty. That may very well be what had happened."

"Test it then," Mystie said. "See if you can travel through that ripple."

"I fully intend to." Emmett turned the car in the ripple's direction, disengaging the time circuits for safety's sake. "Though, this is very risky. We might end up in a totally foreign world, you know."

"We gotta take that chance. For Doc."

Emmett smiled and nodded. "I thought you'd say that. Hold on." He stomped on the accelerator. Everyone braced themselves, shut their eyes, and hoped for the best.

Thursday, February 19th, 1987

Trilogy Seattle, Washington

7:35 P.M.

Mysteria held on for dear life as the car shook violently. "What the hell!"

"We _must_ be entering another dimension!" Emmett yelled. "I remember this from entering your world!"

"Does it really have to be like going into a blender?"

Marty glanced around, looking nervous. "Ah -- Dr. Brown? Do you remember this stuff too?" he asked fearfully.

"Remember what stuff?"

"It's kinda hard to see, but there's a -- ripple of some sort going through the car. It just went through me."

Emmett and Mystie looked around and indeed saw, through the shaking, what looked like a ripple moving through the structure of the car. "Not much we can do about it," Emmett shrugged. "Just have to hope it's another symptom of dimensional passage."

Finally, the car stabilized. Seattle was still spread out before them, and rain was still pounding on the car. Mystie peered outside. "It all looks the same to me. Did we make it?"

"We made it," Marty said confidently.

"How do you know?" asked Emmett.

Marty smiled, and pressed his hand firmly against his heart. "Call it a hunch."

Thursday, February 19th, 1987

Trilogy Hill Valley

7:41 P.M.

Doc stepped out of his study prison, having broken the lock. He looked around, searching for either the other Brown family or the Tannen intruders. There was no sign of either one. Doc frowned, cursing softly to himself. Jiff and Bill had taken over the house fairly quickly, apparently tying up Clara, Marty, Jules, and Verne, and moving them to another location before going on a search for material goods. Doc just wished he had been able to get out quicker -- the lock had been an old, thick one, and required a few minutes to break.

He sniffed the air. The freshest scents were his and Clara's, meaning they had been the last ones up here. He went downstairs cautiously, keeping on his guard for the intruders. Even though he certainly couldn't be killed by gunfire, being shot was not an experience he cared to have. _Best to avoid danger if I can._

He picked up the Tannen scents as he got downstairs. He followed them down the hall, through the kitchen, into the foyer, and toward the basement stairs. As he came closer to the door, he heard muffled grunts from below. _They must be down there. Well, time to prove to Clara I'm no threat._

He was just about to open the door when Jiff appeared, gun in hand. "Oh, so the man of the house _is_ here!" he chuckled, leveling the gun at Doc's chest.

Doc snarled at him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"We're looking for your dough, Brown."

"Well, you tried the kitchen already. Would you expect it to be anywhere else?"

"Ha ha ha. Where's the moolah, Brown?"

"You have no idea what you're getting into, Tannen," Doc said, straightening to his full height.

"No, _you_ don't. This thing is loaded. And I'm ready to shoot." He chambered a round. "So fess up. Where did you hide your money?"

"I don't have any money to hide," Doc bluffed. He didn't know if this was the truth or not, but why give Jiff the satisfaction? "Where's Bill?"

"Downstairs. Butt-head has a weak tummy, so I let him take the easy job."

Doc's eyes narrowed. "You're aware I can have you arrested on felony charges?"

"Not if you're dead," Jiff smirked. "But I'm willing to cut a deal. Show me the money and I'll let your family go. Keep being a butt-head, and I'll let Bill pick them off one by one. Right in front of you if I have to."

"You're an evil, evil, kid," Doc hissed. "You'll get to them over my dead body."

"That can be arranged." Without further ado, Jiff fired twice.

Doc fell to the floor. Jiff smirked. "Idiot," he said casually, walking up to the dead body.

Only to see it turn over.

Jiff froze as Doc slowly got up. One hand went briefly to his chest, and a look of shock and joy passed over his face. Then it turned into a look of pain as he got on his hands and knees. "Jesus, you are one tough old bastard," Jiff said, impressed in spite of himself.

"You have no idea," Doc whispered. With a cat-like jump, he was on his feet and fully vamped.

Jiff shrieked, and automatically fired again. The bullet blasted through Doc's stomach. The wound opened, only to close again almost immediately. Doc advanced, fangs fully extended, wings spread. _This will be probably the _only_ time in my life I'll want to look like a soulless vampire,_ he thought with an inward chuckle.

"What the fuck! Bill, get up here!"

There were footsteps behind him, then the door opened. "What -- holy shit," a voice whimpered. Doc turned to see a boy who looked almost exactly like Jiff, eyes as wide as dinner plates. One needed only to look at the wet stain on his pants to see how scared he was. "I _told_ you we shouldn't have done this, Jiff!"

"It's gotta be an illusion," Jiff muttered, trying to bolster his failing nerves. "There's no way he could really be like that." He suddenly threw himself on Doc, trying to both knock him off balance and see if the wings were real.

The wings _were_ real, and he _did_ knock Doc off balance. Doc stumbled into Bill, trying his best to remain upright. Bill fell over, grabbing onto Doc's wings in an attempt to break his fall. All he succeeded in doing was dragging everyone down the basement stairs.

Doc caught a glimpse of Clara as they landed on the concrete floor. She was shaking, obviously terrified. He hated to scare her further, but it was that or see her and her family get hurt. He pushed free of the pile and pulled in his wings.

Jiff, his nose bleeding, grabbed hold of his leg. "Hold him, Bill! We gotta hold him!"

Bill, however, had no desire of trying to hold him. Doc shook Jiff off and swung around, fangs bared again. Bill screamed and bolted upstairs, one arm dangling at a funny angle. Jiff, dead white, backed up. "I don't believe this is happening," he muttered desperately to himself, searching for a weapon. "It's -- it's _gotta_ be some sort of illusion -- yeah, he's like Mysterio, he invented this crazy gas or something--"

_He says that after jumping on me,_ Doc thought, rolling his eyes. He attacked again before Jiff could get on-balance.

Bill ran to the front door, hissing in pain over his fractured arm. Just as he got there, it opened, and Emmett came through. Bill gasped and fell over. "No! No!"

Emmett looked down at him, astonished. "Bill Tannen?"

"I surrender! I surrender!" Bill cried, holding up his one good arm. "I'm sorry! Jiff talked me into it! Just don't change!"

Emmett really wasn't sure _what_ to make of the pathetic mess before him. "Bill, are you all right?"

"Just don't turn into that monster thing," Bill whimpered. "Throw me in jail, just don't hurt me. I've already got a broken arm."

Mysteria and Marty came in. "What's going on?"

Bill blinked. "Marty? How did you get loose?"

"Huh?"

"He says a monster version of me was terrorizing him," Emmett explained, shaking his head. "Bill, have you been sniffing glue or something?"

Mystie and Marty shared a nervous look. "Uh-oh," Mystie murmured. "How do we explain this?"

"I think we'd better find our Doc f -- OUCH!"

Everyone's heads snapped toward Marty. "Are you all right?" Emmett asked, concerned.

"Felt like a roundhouse to the jaw," Marty muttered. "Is anyone else here?"

"My brother Jiff," Bill said, trembling. "I though he had Dr. Brown here downstairs with the hostages. Please don't hurt me."

"Just stay there and we won't," Emmett promised him. "I -- hostages?"

"Yeah. We wanted to rob the place. Jiff convinced me to do it."

Emmett went pale. "Great Scott, Clara!" He rushed to the door of the laundry room. Mystie and Marty ran after him. "And of _course _this would happen today," Emmett grumbled. "When I have another version of myself in the house."

They all reached the stairs about the same time. "Maybe we should go down first," Mystie suggested, hoping her husband was all right.

"My house, my family," Emmett said simply, pushing past her. Mysteria and Marty could only follow, praying Doc wasn't in his changed form. "Clara! Jules! Verne! Marty! Are you okay?"

Jiff was unconscious at the foot of the stairs. Emmett just barely kept himself from tripping over him. Doc was leaning against the wall, his back to the group. Judging from his bent over posture, he was completely exhausted. Clara was free from her bonds, and was in the process of getting Jules loose. She looked up as they rushed down. "Emmett? You're the right one, I hope," she said, looking rather shaken.

Emmett smiled. "I'm the right one, Clara Emile Clayton Brown."

That appeared to be all the proof Clara needed. She welcomed him into a hug and kiss. "Welcome home. Are you all right?"

"Fine, fine. They took good care of me. Are _you_ all right?"

"Yes, thanks to your other self." Clara looked over at Doc with a touch of apprehension. "Although -- I'd really like to know how he ended up like that."

"Like what?" Emmett asked, turning to face his other self.

Doc slowly turned around and lifted his head. To Mystie and Marty's shock, he had remained in vampire form. "Like this," he said laboriously.

Emmett promptly keeled over. Doc wasn't too long in following.


	7. Wrapping Up

Chapter 7

Thursday, February 19th, 1987

Trilogy Hill Valley

7:57 P.M.

Mystie looked over at Clara. "So -- you're Clara," she blurted, unable to think of anything better to say.

Clara nodded, looking from her unconscious husband to Mystie and back. "Who are you?"

"Mysteria Jones Brown. _That_ Emmett's wife." She pointed to the unconscious Doc. "And I'm sure you know Marty." She looked between the two teenagers. "Well, _a_ Marty."

"Do you need a hand?" Marty offered cautiously. He didn't want to upset Clara, knowing how she might react.

"Well, if you can get those two awake again, I'd appreciate it," Clara said. "There's some smelling salts upstairs in our bedroom cupboard."

A sudden groan from Emmett told them the salts wouldn't be necessary. "Great Scott," he mumbled, sitting up.

"You okay?" Marty asked.

"Yes." He looked over at his other self. "No."

"Mama, help?" Verne asked, voice muffled by the gag.

"Oh, coming dear." Clara quickly untied Verne and their Martin. "Emmett, do you have any idea why your other self looks like that?"

"None. Why _does_ he look like that?" Emmett asked Mystie.

"Well -- apparently he was just too tired to return to normal-looking," Mystie non-explained. "My poor baby. . . ."

"You know what I mean. Don't skirt the issue."

Mystie and Marty looked at each other nervously. "Um -- well -- our Doc's a vampire," Marty said. "And so's Mystie. It's a really long story."

Everyone stared at him. "Vampire?" Emmett repeated. "Vampires don't exist."

"Then you explain why he has fangs," Mystie said. "Where we come from, vampires do exist. I don't know about this world."

"But -- but look at the definition of a vampire!"

"Then throw it out the window," Mystie said firmly. "Most of what's commonly 'known' about vampires is utter bull. Including the fact that we're all evil," she added, glancing back at Clara.

"Your Emmett Brown probably just saved our lives," Clara said softly. "I wouldn't think he's evil for that." She looked down at her feet, blushing. "In fact, now I feel really guilty about threatening him with the shotgun."

"Excuse me!"

"I panicked! The only other alternate Emmett Brown I've ever dealt with was trying to kill me! I didn't know what this one could do."

"It's okay. Your Emmett explained it all to us." Mystie used her own fangs to bite her wrist, prompting starts from Emmett and Clara. She held the bloody flesh to Doc's lips. He stirred, took a weak lick, then fainted again. "He's really out," she said, worried. "It must be from all the sunlight."

"Guess we're going to need the smelling salts after all," Clara said. "Would you like any help getting him upstairs?"

"Mystie and I can manage," Marty assured her. "You'd better do something about the Wonder Twins." He made a face. "So Biff had _twins_ in this reality?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Bill's not that bad usually, but Jiff's definitely his father's kid," Martin replied, making his own face. He shook his head. "This is _weird._ I mean, I've seen myself before, but -- well, not like this. This takes the cake."

"I'm telling you. The only other me I've seen was my 47-year-old self." He looked over at Jiff. "So how do you want to do this?"

Emmett took charge. "We'll pull Jiff upstairs and phone the police. You can put your Dr. Brown in our master bedroom and grab the smelling salts. Just keep him out of the way until we're done."

"Sounds good to me. Where is the master bedroom?"

"We'll show you," Jules offered.

"Good boy, Jules," Emmett said proudly. He and Clara grabbed Jiff and hauled him back upstairs, followed by Martin. Mystie looked over at Marty. "Well, that gave me a bit of a chill. I wonder how Emmett is going to react when he comes round?"

"He'll have to admit it was his own fault we had to blab," Marty shrugged, picking up Doc's feet. "Personally, I'm just glad he's here and all right."

"Me too." She put a hand on Marty's shoulder. "You're not feeling his exhaustion, are you?"

"Not really, but I did get some flashes from him earlier. You were right -- too much time awake in the sun coupled with too much stress."

"What are you talking about?" Verne asked curiously.

Mystie looked at him. "Do you understand about different dimensions?" They shook their heads. "Then I wouldn't worry about it just at the moment. Your mom and dad can explain it better than I can."

The kids were satisfied with this. "Okay. Come on, the bedroom is this way."

Mystie kissed Doc as she lifted him. "My poor baby. I just hope that, once he revives, we can get to the bottom of this whole realities mess."

Thursday, February 19th

8:33 P.M.

_Great Scott, how can a smell so awful even _exist

Doc opened his eyes to find a great mass of white before him. It took him a moment to realize it was a pillow, and that his face was mashed into it. He frowned. _But if my nose is here, how can I be smelling that smell?_

"Good, he's up."

"Great," came Marty's strangled voice. Doc turned his head to see Mysteria and Marty standing beside him. Marty was holding a bottle of smelling salts under his nose. "That's cheating," he blurted, stunned.

"It worked, didn't it?" Marty said, gratefully capping the bottle. "It's good to see ya, Doc."

Doc's face lit up as he realized that they were indeed really there. He sat up and grabbed the both of them in a hug. "Oh, it's good to see you too! Maybe I just dreamed that whole adventure. It was the craziest thing, Mysteria. I somehow ended up in another world where I was married to an Old West schoolteacher named Clara Clayton."

"Sorry, Doc, it's real," Marty told him, wiping his eyes. "This world's Dr. Brown managed to find a way back here so we could help you, that's all."

"That's _all_! Great Scott, that means we can get home!"

"Well, not right away," Mystie said with an embarrassed look. "We had to tell this other version of you what you were. He's rather insistent on learning the details now."

Doc sighed. "I see. I'm sorry about that. What with all that was going on, in such a short amount of time. . . . I honestly tried to resume normal form, but I was just too tired."

"I know, sweetie." Mystie glanced toward the door. "Want to hypnotize it out of them?"

"I don't know. I'm still feeling pretty out of it. And I do need to talk to my other self anyway. Let's play it by ear for now." He rubbed his eyes. "Where are they? Where are _we_, for that matter?"

"Their bedroom. They're waiting for us in the living room."

"What happened with Jiff and Bill?"

"They've been arrested. We waited for the police to leave before we woke you up."

"Good idea." Doc slowly got to his feet, yawning. "I was frightened that I was going to have to seriously hurt Jiff by the end of that fight. He's much crueler here than he is in our reality."

"Maybe because he has a twin brother to beat up here," Marty shrugged, helping Doc steady himself. "Is there anything we can get you?"

"Honestly, a drink would be nice. Probably clear my head a little more."

"Got one right here," Mystie said, putting his mouth against her neck. Doc gratefully extended his fangs and sucked for a few minutes. "Thanks," he said, feeling much more refreshed. "Lead on."

Clara, Emmett, and Martin were waiting on the couch for them in the living room. "Glad to see you awake and upright," Emmett said. "No ill effects I hope?"

"None that'll last. Where's your sons?"

"I sent them upstairs to play," Clara said. "We promised them that we'd explain as soon as we could. I didn't want them to be frightened any more than they already were."

Martin couldn't stop staring at his alternate self. "I can't get over this. You guys are from another reality."

"I saw it myself, Marty," Emmett said. "You really shouldn't look so stunned. It's not like we haven't see alternate realities before."

"Yeah, but nothing like this."

"I imagine it would be pretty hard to see yourselves when one of you's been committed and the other is stuck in Switzerland," Doc interjected.

Emmett blinked. "How'd you know about that?"

"I've been reading your journals," Doc confessed. "I was hoping they'd help me understand what was going on with this dimension."

"Did they?"

"Yes, sort of. It looks like the split in our time-lines was caused by one decision -- what date we went to the future. I visited 2015 on the 21st, you visited it on the 26th."

Emmett frowned. "Why the 21st?"

"Well, why the 26th? I just picked a random date."

"I wanted to make it an even 30 years, honestly. So, you were there to see Marty Junior with Griff! Why didn't you do anything?"

Doc suddenly blushed. "I -- uh -- did. I didn't realize what was going on at the time, of course, all I saw was Marty's son being bullied. I snapped and--" his voiced dropped "-- kicked him in the nads."

Emmett and Martin burst into laughter. "Oh man, that's exactly what _I_ did!" Martin snickered. "The guy doesn't seem to listen to anything else."

Doc couldn't help but smile. "That's probably true. I've read about your adventures in 2015, I'm glad you were able to keep your son from going to jail. I also, ironically enough, ended up in a similar position to your Jennifer -- although in my case it was voluntary."

"You _voluntarily_ got yourself stuck in my future house?"

"Curiosity killed the cat," Doc shrugged. "I was able to escape without incident, luckily."

"Good." Emmett leaned forward, looking curious. "So how much do you know of my life? I've been keeping a diary ever since 1950, although I lost the earliest volumes in the fire."

"All of your adventures, up until the Eastwood dedication."

Emmett looked suddenly uncomfortable. "I see. I must have looked like an over-emotional fool."

Marty frowned. "Eastwood dedication?"

"It's a really long story," Martin said. "When I was in the Old West with my Doc, I went under the name Clint Eastwood. So when I went back to the future, everyone though I had crashed with the train we'd hijacked, so they named the ravine after 'me.' I guess you're talking about some sort of formal ceremony?"

Doc nodded. "I sort of know how you felt," he told Emmett. "My Marty was nearly strangled by another vampire, a soulless one."

"Were you the cause?" Emmett asked darkly.

"He might have been," Mysteria spoke up, blushing. "Sorry honey, but we did toss around the idea that Sucker was doing it to get back into Biff's good graces after accidentally changing you."

"Fair enough," Doc admitted. "But I certainly never meant for him to get hurt."

"There's that vampire business again," Clara said, looking puzzled. "I still don't understand how you three can claim to be vampires."

Doc allowed his fangs to extend. Clara turned pale and scooted closer to her husband. Emmett stared. "Great Scott. But really, how can that be? Even to develop the fangs, you'd have to go through some serious genetic changes."

"Exactly. Vampirism is a sort of disease. From what I've discovered about it, it does rewrite your DNA to make room for various 'improvements.'"

"Incredible."

Clara glanced at Mysteria. "And you're a vampire too."

"Born in Puritian times," Mysteria nodded, obligingly flashing her fangs again. "I had the bad luck to be vampirized around the time of the Salem witch trials."

"You poor dear. My maternal great-great-grandmother was around during that time. Her sister was imprisoned in Andover for a short while, before her friend managed to buy her way out." Clara smiled a little. "The story was passed down from mother to daughter in my family, apparently to discourage witchcraft."

"Huh. Maybe I knew her. What was your great-great-grandmother's name?"

Clara thought hard for a few moments. "I'm almost certain it was Constance. Constance Vanity Jones."

Mysteria turned dead white. "Oh my God. That's _my_ sister."

There was a period of silence as everyone digested that. Finally Doc coughed. "Maybe we have a weakness for girls from the same bloodline."

"Possibly. We'd have to see a third related wife to make it official, though, and I don't feel like going to find her."

"Do you really think it's possible you'd marry three different women?" Martin frowned.

"If in my own reality, I can be a vampire, I think anything's possible," Doc said.

Martin cast a glance at Marty. "_You_ aren't -- ah--"

"Not until I'm 45," Marty said, holding up a hand. "Jennifer and I are sorta in-between right now."

"Yes, if you drink vampire blood, you gain some vampire abilities," Doc nodded. "Heal some minor injuries quickly, increased strength and stamina, and have a special bond with the vampire who's blood you drank. The bond itself is called a blood-link."

"So _that's_ how you knew he was here," Emmett said to Marty. "I suppose that means you two are unusually close, right?"

"Well, closer than most people," Marty shrugged. "I mean, I _am_ feeling his heartbeat constantly."

Emmett sighed. "Incredible. Simply incredible."

"I don't think it's really that more incredible than anything _you've_ gone through. Besides which, we've actually shared a number of time travel experiences. We've both seen Biff-ruled worlds--"

"How bad was yours?" Martin interrupted, curious. "Biff was my _stepfather_ in the world we saw."

"How does Biff as a vampire strike you?" Marty replied.

Everyone shuddered. "And we've both had to deal with Buford Tannen in the Old West."

"That lout," Clara muttered.

"Tell me about it," Mysteria scowled. "_Filly._ Bastard."

Emmett decided it was time to get down to brass tacks. "What I want to know is how we ended up traversing dimensions in the first place. I certainly didn't set out with that as my goal."

"Me either. My only goal was to test my newest invention, the--"

"Temporal Displacement Locator," everyone chorused, causing both Doc and Emmett to blush. "We know."

"I suspect the TDL could be the cause," Emmett said. "Maybe its addition altered enough of the electronics in the car to change it from a mere time machine to a dimensional travel machine."

"If that's the case, every time we used the TDL, we'd end up dimension hopping," Doc said reasonably. "I was able to travel back to Hill Valley with it and not end up in another dimension yet again."

"Good point," Emmett admitted. "We also traveled to Seattle with no problems. So that theory is non-viable."

"Maybe not -- how did you get back to this dimension with Mysteria and Marty?"

"Well, upon traveling back to Seattle, we discovered this strange 'ripple' floating in the air. When we passed through that, we found ourselves in this dimension. I suppose you could call it a 'dimensional door.'"

"I see." Doc frowned, deep in thought. "When did you test your time machine?"

"Today at 5:57 P.M."

"Same here. I wonder if that had anything to do with it."

"Could, Doc," Marty said. "I mean, you were both at the same place, at the same time, testing the same invention, and when you actually time traveled. . . ."

"We did it at the same time," Emmett finished. "That could be it. Simultaneous time travel. Maybe it put too much of a stress on the space-time continuum, and that caused a rip between dimensions, which we passed through."

Doc chewed his lower lip. "But that means any time either of us makes a time trip, were' in danger of heading into a different dimension."

"That's true, but the odds must be very slim. My family, Marty, and I have probably made -- over 20 trips through time and nothing like this has happened until now. What about you?"

"I'd say about 20 too, maybe a few less," Doc nodded. "Although that seems to disprove the theory that we 'ripped' a hole between dimensions through simultaneous time travel."

"Ah, but that takes us back to the addition of the TDL. The addition--"

Emmett paused as he realized the Martys, Clara, and Mystie were starting to snigger. "What's so funny?"

"Just -- hearing you debate yourself," Clara said, trying to keep a straight face. "It's just -- what's the word? Surreal?"

"Exactly," Mystie agreed. "I mean, you do mutter to yourself, but this--" she broke down giggling again.

Doc and Emmett looked at each other, then had to laugh too. "I see what you mean. This is rather odd. Anyway, The addition of something designed to help us transverse space as well as time would probably make it more likely for us to be able to transverse dimensions. We're traveling across more of the space-time continuum now."

"You've got a point," Doc admitted. "Maybe I should remove the TDL."

"Oh, honey, you've been working on that all summer," Mystie said. "I don't think you should just give it up."

"Yeah, Doc, just because this happened once doesn't mean it'll always happen," Marty agreed. "I think it's a cool addition to the time machine."

"Yeah, me too," Martin said with a slight grin.

Doc looked thoughtful. "But what if I do this switching with another time traveler? If you take into account a theory of infinite universes, I could switch dimensions with any time traveler if we happened to activate our machines at the same moment."

"Like I said, the odds are against it," Emmett reminded him. "I'd call this scenario a million-to-one shot."

"And anyway, anyone smart enough to invent time travel would be pretty sympathetic to your cause," Clara said. "Now that we know what could happen, it should be easier to fix if it ever happens again."

Doc nodded. "You're right. I can't worry constantly about what might happen. Otherwise I'll turn into a nervous wreck."

"You think you would have learned that from your first date with Mystie," Marty gently ragged. "I'm telling you, he was worse than my dad with Lorraine."

"I was not," Doc blushed.

"Honey, we all know you were a wreck," Mystie said, stroking his hair.

"If he had two girlfriends named Lucy Childs and Jill Wooster, I think he deserves to be nervous around women," Emmett said, scowling. "Even I felt rather nervous around Clara -- probably more so since she occupied a special role in the space-time continuum."

Clara kissed his cheek. "It all worked out, right? We're married and have two wonderful boys."

"And we just got married, and I'm eager to get back for my honeymoon," Mysteria said.

"Yeah, our Jennifer's going to be worried sick about us," Marty admitted. "So, do we just take our Doc in our DeLorean back through that ripple again?"

"That would be the easiest option, yes, but I'm a little concerned about leaving that doorway open," Emmett said.

"Me too," Doc agreed. "It's probably in commercial airspace -- what happens if a plane flies through?"

"I don't really want to know. However, I have a plan. If we recreate the conditions that opened the door in the first place, that should reverse the effect and send us back to our proper dimensions."

"What if it doesn't work?"

"Then hopefully the doorway will remain open and we can just switch back the 'easy' way. Then we'll see if we can do anything about it in the correct dimensions."

Doc looked at Mystie. "It's worth a try. The thought of a permanent doorway between our dimensions is just too frightening to me. Too much risk of an accident."

"So I'll go back with you, we'll both return to Seattle, and make another simultaneous time trip in the exact same spot. A minute's jump into the future from 8:54 should be fine. If all goes well, we should pass through again and close the passage."

"One caveat," Doc said, lifting a finger. "You aim slightly to the right, I'll aim slightly to the left. I don't want to see what would happen if we managed to crash into each other."

Emmett shuddered. "Good point. Well, then, I'll see you in a few minutes, Clara."

"Oh, Emmett, be careful," Clara said, kissing him. "I don't want to lose you."

"You'd better come back safe," Mystie almost threatened Doc. "I still need to punish you for getting us into this stupid mess." She abruptly threw her arms around him. "Please be safe, sweetie. Losing you by any other means would be tragic, but losing you in a temporal accident would be just too much."

"I promise, I'll do everything I can to come out of this in one piece," Doc said gently. He kissed her nose. "And I'll let you do anything you want to me, I promise."

Emmett turned to Martin. "I'll be back, Futureboy," he said, warmly embracing him.

"I'll be waiting. I know you'll come back safe. You're the Doc."

Marty squeezed Doc in a mirror image of their counterparts. "Yeah. You've escaped this sort of shit enough times. I think you can pull it off again."

Doc rolled his eyes. "I certainly hope so. I'll see you in a little bit."

Emmett pulled himself free of Martin's arms. "So, are you ready to go?"

"Well -- there is one thing I wanted to see before I left."

"Oh?"

"You mentioned in your journals that you were building a second time machine with materials from the late 1880s. I'd kind of like to see it."

Emmett smiled strangely. "You would?"


	8. Back Home Again

Chapter 8

Thursday, February 19th, 1987

Trilogy Hill Valley

8:47 P.M.

"Holy shit."

That was really all you _could_ say when confronted with a huge steam locomotive that had been converted into a almost Jules-Vernian time machine. Doc, Marty, and Mystie all gawked at the machine before them, taking in everything they could as Emmett stood proudly by. "What do you think?"

"Heavy," Marty breathed. "And you built this thing all out of 1880s parts?"

"Mostly. I also used the hoverboard my Marty had left behind with us to design some simple circuitry for the flux capacitor and the time circuits. And I also had it hoverconverted in the 2020s." He looked over at Doc. "You should know about that from my journals, actually."

Doc didn't respond. Marty grinned as he saw Doc was practically panting over the train. "I think he's in love with it."

"Are you _drooling_?" asked an astonished -- and amused -- Mystie.

"What?" Doc said, slowly coming back to the world of the living. "Oh, drooling? Of course not." He quickly tried to wipe his mouth without anyone seeing. Mystie and Clara exchanged a knowing glance. "How -- how long did it take to build this?"

"Years. Clara helped, but I had to improvise practically everything. The hoverboard was of _immense_ value."

Doc laid a hand on it. "Does it have to achieve 88 miles per hour for temporal travel, like the DeLorean?"

"Yes, but while I was in the future, I hooked up a series of energy capacitors to the walls. That way it doesn't take an inordinate amount of time to get up to the proper speed."

"What does it run on? I mean, I know plutonium was unheard of back then," Marty asked, puzzled.

"That's what I spent most of my time on. I finally rigged it to run completely on steam. Took four years, seven months, three weeks, and five days, but I did it. Of course, it took an additional three years to make it a viable time machine."

"Amazing. I'm very impressed," Doc said. Emmett blushed, taking that as a very high compliment. "I can only hope I'd be as ingenious, stuck in a similar position."

"I'm sure you would be. After all, we are, at heart, the same person." He checked his wristwatch. "Well, we'd best get going. The longer that doorway stays open, the more chance of someone else discovering it and upsetting the balance between dimensions."

"Yeah." Doc gave Marty and Mystie some parting hugs. "I'll see you in just a few."

"We know. I love you, sweetie."

"See ya later, Doc," Marty said, squeezing Doc's hand.

Emmett hugged Clara and Martin as well. "I don't know _how_ we're going to explain all of this to Jules and Verne," Clara admitted.

"We'll find a way. We always do." He kissed her. "I'll be back shortly." He grabbed Mystie and Marty, and together they got in his DeLorean and headed back to Seattle and their reality.

Doc smiled awkwardly at Martin and Clara. "Goodbye then."

Clara blushed. "I am sorry for using the gun on you earlier," she said softly. "I just lost my head."

"It's all right. I hope everything goes well and you can have _your_ husband back soon." They shook hands.

Martin hesitated a moment, then gave Doc a quick hug. "Stay safe. I don't want anything to happen to either one of you."

"Thanks. I'll do my best." He patted Martin on the back. "Goodbye -- and good luck explaining all of this to the kids." Clara and Martin both laughed. Doc got back into his DeLorean and set the TDL for Seattle. After carefully lifting off, he gave Clara and Martin one final wave, and headed off to the rainy city.

He arrived back there with no problems, to his relief. After a moment's searching, he located the ripple "door" to his home dimension. He positioned himself in front of it and waited for the crucial moment.

Finally, 8:54 arrived. Both Doc and Emmett set their time circuits, gunned their engines, and raced toward the doorway.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Doc held tightly to the steering wheel as the car rocked wildly. He dreaded to think what would happen if he somehow got tossed out. Would he be trapped, like Lovecraft's Dunwich horror, born between dimensions and unable to ever get free? Would he ever be able to return to his own dimension? Would he even be able to live?

Then the question became academic as the car steadied, and he found himself rocketing over Seattle.

It only took him a moment to ascertain that he was back in his home dimension. Marty's heartbeat was back in his chest, and the ripple he had come through had disappeared. Relieved, he did a few victory laps over the rainy city.

As he prepared to go home, he thought briefly about his counterpart from the alternate 1987. _I hope he made it through all right. Great Scott, I can't wait to see Clara_ --

_Clara?_

Doc blinked. Just for a moment, he had felt like he was the _other_ Dr. Emmett Brown. Like a strange flash of temporal intuition. He smiled as he realized that Emmett had felt just as relieved and happy as he himself did. _So he got home safely as well. What a relief for us both_._ Good luck, Emmett Brown._ He turned his DeLorean back toward Hill Valley and home. Thursday, February 19th, 1987

VD Hill Valley

9:01 P.M.

Mysteria, Marty, and Jennifer were all waiting for him with open arms. "Oh, thank God," Mystie said, looking relieved. "Marty told me you'd made it through okay, but I had to see you to believe it. . . ."

"It's good to have you back Doc," Jennifer said happily, hugging him.

"It's good to be back," Doc said, hugging back. "Those last few minutes were some of the scariest of my life. I was terrified it wasn't going to work, and that I might never see you again."

"Same here," Marty admitted, joining in on the hugs. "I'm just glad you made it through okay."

"Me too. And the doorway you described is gone now. Our little experiment must have worked just as predicted." He patted Marty on the back. "Thanks for bringing that to our attention."

"No problem. I knew absorbing your personality would come in handy sometime."

Doc chuckled, then turned to Mystie. "So -- I believe you have some punishment to dish out," he said, blushing.

"That I do," Mysteria agreed, turning stern. "Part one of which is that you don't go anywhere near that lab for the rest of the night."

"Fine with me. I don't want to lay eyes on a DeLorean for the next week."

The End


End file.
